Dear layer2-ga;
The instrument you have is indeed an odometer used to measure the
distance traveled by a human drawn cart or a horse drawn wagon. It
dates to the late 1800’s (probably 1890’s) and was used by surveyors
and other Topographical Engineers to determine how far they had
traveled in a given day. It originally came in a stout leather case
and was strapped or attached to a wheel of a wagon to measure the
number of revolutions. The dial, which was attached to a heavy brass
weight, hung down while the frame and worm gear revolved. The gears
were set according to the measurement of the wheel, which was, as you
might imagine, of utmost importance in order to provide an accurate
estimate because reading were used to draft maps of an area for later
conversion to scale. At the end of the day the surveyor would multiply
the number of recorded revolutions by the diameter of the wheel to
which it was attached to obtain the number of feet traveled. He would
average this number as miles, adjusting it as much as 1 to 3 percent,
depending upon how rough the terrain had been during the day’s
travels. The result was by no means accurate but provided a fairly
good idea of the overall distance.
On April 19, 1847, William Clayton, lead his wagon train from Omaha,
Nebraska to Utah an in his journals he recorded his mileage. On this
trip Clayton employed the use of a “roadometer” which was made of
wooden cogs and gears that made use of the same rudimentary
calculating methods that the later brass wheel odometer would use (you
can see a reproduction of the original “Exodus Odometer” on the
“Heritage Gateway” link below) . There is no doubt that yours, made
most likely of brass, dates to a period much later, and is one used by
a surveyor of the time (you can see an odometer like yours on the
Corps of Engineers link below). These were relatively short lived as
the invention of the automobile in the early 1900’s did away with the
need for both “roadometers” and wagons.
“LUNDS Auctioneers & Appraisers Ltd.” Recently sold one of these
odometers at auction. The pre-sale price was estimated by Lund’s
Auction at $15.00 - $20.00 CND ($9.50 - $12.68 USD). The device sold
for $22.00 CND ($13.95 USD).
You have a wonderfully interesting piece of Americana and it may very
well sell for twice, or even three times that price to a collector of
period antiques or memorabilia. An avid collector of survey equipment
may offer a bit more. At the very least, it would make a welcomed gift
or loan to your local museum should be inclined to do so.
I hope you find this information interesting and useful. I look
forward to working with you again in the near future.
Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga
Company B, United States Corps of Engineers - Topographical Engineers
“Surveying & Mapping Equipment of the 1800’s”
http://www.texasonline.net/people/adixon/topogs/Odometer.htm
“LUNDS Auctioneers & Appraisers Ltd.”
(See: 0200 - Odometer in case.)
http://www.lunds.com/whatsnew/catalogue.asp?AucID=827
““Soil Survey Field Method of the late 1890’s – early 1900’s”
http://216.239.33.100/search?q=cache:_vTML3B3spgC:www.statlab.iastate.edu/soils/soildiv/ncss/issue5.pdf+early+brass+odometer&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
“THE CASPER STAR-TRIBUNE 1997 MORMON TRAIL COVERAGE”
http://www.mormontrail.net/TRAIL97/WESTNEB/09jun1cm.html
“Heritage Gateway – Replica of the Original Exodus Odometer”
http://heritage.uen.org/cgi-bin/websql/query.hts?type=102&tid=51240
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